In a game of catch as catch can at the Coors Field hot corner Tuesday night, Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre, one of baseball's best at the position, got caught in a fifth-inning shift edging toward shortstop.

And when Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez hit a sharp grounder down the line at third, Beltre, well out of diving range, threw his glove at the ball.

It was like tossing a leather dart at a moving board. It didn't work. But this was the length Beltre went to in trying to outpace his Rockies counterpart, 23-year-old Nolan Arenado, in a collection of two-sided highlight plays too big for a single reel.

And even then, all the fancy fielding was pounded down by the Rockies' ridiculous offense. Colorado rolled again behind another over-the-top hitting night from Troy Tulowitzki and a five-hit game from Gonzalez to rout the visiting Rangers for the second time in two nights, 12-1 this time.

The Rockies (21-14), who finished with a season-high 21 hits, have won nine of their last 12 games, with the second half of a four-game, home-and-home series with the Rangers continuing Wednesday night at Texas.

While the corner fielders were showing off Gold Glove-worthy web work, Troy Tulowitzki continued his dominance of opposing pitchers. He went 3-for-4 to up his average to a league-leading .421. Tulowitzki also leads the majors in on-base percentage (.526) and slugging percentage (.794), and he's third with 30 RBIs.

His line drive in the third inning nearly took off baserunner Drew Stubbs' head at second base. And his liner to shortstop Elvis Andrus in the fifth may have been the hardest-hit out of the season.

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Tulowitzki's double the next inning, on another line drive to left, was part of a game-breaking sixth as the Rockies scored six runs to put the game into blowout territory. It's all part of the best start in Tulowitzki's career.

Between Arenado and Beltre, the two third basemen combined Tuesday for 10 putouts and hundreds more oohs and ahs.

"In the history of the game, it was always about power at the corners. But you don't have those prototypes anymore. So it's defense for me," Texas manager Ron Washington said of how he rates third basemen.

"And that kid (Arenado) is a highlight film over there."

Arenado ate up a Beltre grounder on a short hop to end the third inning. And Arenado stepped in front of all-star shortstop Tulowitzki in the fifth to bare-hand a ball and throw out Beltre at first.

Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) hits a double down the left field line to keep his hitting streak alive at 26 games against the Texas Rangers May 6, 2014 at Coors Field. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

And Beltre got the best of Arenado in the third, with a tag-out, throw-out, 5-3 double play. It was that kind of two-player back and forth all night.

Arenado, too, doubled off the left-field chalk line in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to 26 games, one shy of Michael Cuddyer's club record set last season.

The box score shows Rockies pitcher Juan Nicasio was pulled after five innings with a two-hitter. But he was erratic, walking five and allowing a first-inning home run to Beltre.

Of his 88 pitches, Nicasio threw 47, just more than half, for strikes. According to MLB stats, Nicasio holds hitters to a .262 average in his first 45 pitches, but .351 after.

The Rockies, though, are overcoming just about everything with a seemingly unstoppable offense.

Home is where Tulo's hits are

After a 3-for-4 night Tuesday, Troy Tulowitzki is now batting an unheard-of .608 at Coors Field. That average is the highest by any player in his first 15 home games of a season (with a minimum 40 plate appearances) since at least 1900, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Rockies continue their four-game series against the Rangers with two at Texas starting Wednesday. His numbers at and away from Coors Field this season (with MLB rank in parentheses):

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